Professional Cultures in International Negotiation. Bridge or Rift?

Multiparty negotiations often serve as forums for hammering out highly complex issues which require the expertise of participants with differing professional backgrounds: diplomats, soldiers, scientists, or international lawyers. Contributors to this ground breaking volume discuss situations in which professional cultures and their interactions color negotiations on issues relating to trade, environment or disarmament.

This work provides insights into the potential benefits and the perils of enlisting professionals in multilateral discussions, including particularly useful analyses of the circumstances in which professional cultures can bridge diverse delegations, and those in which they will cause or deepen rifts. A readable volume on a topic of growing importance, this is a must-read for both professional practitioners and scholars.

• PART I: Introduction

• Introduction Gunnar Sjöstedt, Guy Olivier Faure, and Winfried Lang

• PART II: Case Studies

• Scientific Culture and its Role in International Negotiations Klaus Gottstein

• Lawyer Culture: Negotiations on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court Gerhard Hafner

• Finland's Membership Negotiations with the European Union Timo Kivimäki

• Uruguay Round Services Negotiations Anders Ahnlid

• Negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Andreas J. Kumin

• Negotiations on the Convention to Combat Desertification Pamela Chasek

• PART III: Analysis

• A Qualitative Interview with Thirteen Practitioners Nancy Caldwell

• An Analytical Perspective from International Business Negotiations Stephen E. Weiss

• Conceptualizing Professional Culture and International Negotiations Kevin Avruch

• Negotiation Strategies Across Industries Catherine H. Tinsley and Jean A. Grube

• PART IV: Conclusions

• Lessons for Research and Practice Gunnar Sjöstedt

Book editor Gunnar Sjöstedt is a member of the Steering Committee of IIASA's project on Processes of International Negotiations (PIN). He is Senior Research Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs and Associate Professor at the University of Stockholm, Sweden.

List of Book Contributors: Anders Ahnlid, Kevin Avruch, Nancy Caldwell, Pamela Chasek, Guy Olivier Faure, Klaus Gottstein, Jean A. Grube, Gerhard Hafner, Timo Kivimäki, Andreas J. Kumin, Winfried Lang, Gunnar Sjöstedt, Catherine H. Tinsley, Stephen E. Weiss.